Jo Dec 1, 2023
The winter solstice is the time of the year with the longest night and the shortest day.
It usually falls on the 21st or 22nd of December every year.
On the winter solstice the sun rises the latest and sets the earliest.
The true noon in Pyongyang is 12:35 and the sun’s altitude is 27.6°.
After the winter solstice, the night gets shorter gradually in all regions (the northern hemisphere) while the day becomes longer until the summer solstice.
From ancient times, our ancestors celebrated the winter solstice, regarding it as the small New Year’s Day (called Ase).
On the day people used to cook tongjijuk (special adzuki-bean gruel taken on the winter solstice) over which they looked back upon the year thinking of themselves growing a year older. They usually shared it with neighbours to promote harmonious relations.
Specially prepared for the gruel were glutinous rice balls which mean good luck in the coming year.
This reflects both the love of mothers who want to please their children and the sincerity of housewives wishing every family member good luck.
People have called it Aedongji if it falls in early November by the lunar calendar and Rodongji if it comes later.
It has been said that Aedongji brings a hard winter while Rodongji makes a mild one.
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Jo Nov 15, 2023
Among the valuable cultural legacies created by our nation is Sungryong Hall in Central District, Pyongyang City.
Sungryong Hall is a shrine first built in the fifteenth century during the feudal Joson dynasty. It was originally used for a memorial service for King Tangun, the founder of Ancient Joson, which was the first ancient state in our country’s history. Later, memorial services for King Tongmyong were also held here. The present building was rebuilt in the eighteenth century.
The original hall was made up of a main hall, two-kan servant’s quarters to the east and west with two one-kan doors each and a three-kan gate. Most of them were destroyed by the Japanese imperialist aggressors, with only the main hall and the gate survived. During the Fatherland Liberation War, they were badly damaged by the US imperialists’ barbarous bombing raids. Sungryong Hall is now restored to its original state. It is a valuable architectural legacy reflecting the architecture of the days of feudal Joson dynasty.
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Jo Nov 11, 2023
A changsaenap is a peculiar woodwind instrument based on a saenap (a Korean brass wind instrument). It was born in the course of development of national instruments under the wise leadership of our Party.
It satisfactorily preserves the features of a saenap in terms of shape and sound quality, supporting the characteristics peculiar to our national instruments.
On the pipe are some finger holes for whole tones and half tones, and some keys.
Compared to a saenap, a changsaenap makes a wider range of and softer sounds.
Such characteristics make execution of folk trills, staccatos, vibratos, etc. successful. It is widely used as a solo instrument.
In addition, it highlights national characteristics in orchestral music and ensembles, and it is effective in playing appealing pieces.
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Jo Nov 9, 2023
“Taedongjiji”, also called “Taedongbangyogo”, is a geography book of our country. It was written in the middle of the nineteenth century by Kim Jong Ho, a geographer and cartographer of those days. It is in 32 volumes and 15 books.
It was written at the same time as his republication of “Taedongyo Map” in 1864 reflecting the demand of the times concerning the development of commerce and transportation in our country in the nineteenth century.
The book contains a detailed description of about 40 items by counties and districts such as the statistics of population, disposition and power of army, kind and number of ships, customs, taxes, etc., all of which were impossible to show on the map.
The first part of the book shows a table of contents and a list of 65 references. Volume 1 is about the capital. Volumes 2 to 24 deal with the geography of 8 provinces of the country. Volume 25 covers mountains and streams and Volume 26 is about national defence. Volumes 27 and 28 are on transportation and communication each. Volumes from 29 to 32 give the historical geography of territory changed over the period from the ancient times to the Koryo dynasty.
The book is organized in a new system on the basis of the new practical data the author obtained from his field surveys over a long period of time and a great number of references.
In terms of system and description, “Taedongjiji” could not pass the limit of feudal stereotype and facts enumeration but it still serves as one of our country’s geographical legacies with its own characteristics as a modern geography book.
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Jo Nov 4, 2023
“Chronicles of the Feudal Joson Dynasty” is a “government journal” where the 500-odd-year history of the feudal Joson dynasty from 1392 to 1910 is recorded in order of year, month and date classified by the kings.
It is in 1 763 volumes and over 900 books.
“Chronicles of the Feudal Joson Dynasty” is classified by the kings into “Thaejo Sillok” (Chronicles of Thaejo), “Jongjong Sillok” (Chronicles of Jongjong), “Thaejong Sillok” (Chronicles of Thaejong), “Sejong Sillok” (Chronicles of Sejong), etc.
With huge amount and rich contents that could hardly be found in the world, “Chronicles of the Feudal Joson Dynasty” is a precious treasure of our nation.
During the hard-fought Fatherland Liberation War decisive of the destiny of the country, President
Under the wise leadership of the great leaders possessed of ardent love for the nation, all the contents were translated into Korean, thus widely used these days for historical studies.
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Jo Nov 1, 2023
When a villager builds or moves into a new house, the whole village turns out to sincerely help them rejoicing over it as over their own. It has been our peoples’ fixed way of life from earlier ages.
On the day of moving into a new house, people in the neighbourhood regarded it as courtesy to help remove household goods or bring some kind of presents needed for housekeeping like a match or a gourd dipper, and the host would serve them with simple food in return.
This fine custom shows the good manners of our people, who have regarded being friendly with neighbours as moral norms of life and have kept to it traditionally.
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